One of our drivers got pulled by VOSA this morning for a check . He had mistakenly left his card in overnight last week and was promptly issued with a £200 on the spot fine , is this normal practice ?
I wouldn’t have thought a £200 FP was in order for a single offence, what was the exact offence he was fined for ?
I would have thought the offence would be “use a tachograph record sheet or driver card for longer than intended” but that carries a £50 FP not £200, on that basis I’m guessing the driver never did a manual entry to explain what happened in which case he may have been fined for “failing to enter the required periods of time manually, automatically or by other means on the record sheet” which does carry a £200 FP.
Though to be honest, unless the driver has a history of none compliance I’d say either the driver met a really ■■■■ enforcement officer or the drivers attitude went against him, for a single offence a £200 FP is harsh in my opinion.
tachograph:
I wouldn’t have thought a £200 FP was in order for a single offence, what was the exact offence he was fined for ?I would have thought the offence would be “use a tachograph record sheet or driver card for longer than intended” but that carries a £50 FP not £200, on that basis I’m guessing the driver never did a manual entry to explain what happened in which case he may have been fined for “failing to enter the required periods of time manually, automatically or by other means on the record sheet” which does carry a £200 FP.
Though to be honest, unless the driver has a history of none compliance I’d say either the driver met a really ■■■■ enforcement officer or the drivers attitude went against him, for a single offence a £200 FP is harsh in my opinion.
He wouldnt have written on the back of the card an explanation , i keep telling them when using digital cards to do a print off if you make a mistake as we have an over zealous compliance manager who is employed by us who loves to pick up on anything he can . This time it was an anologue but in a way it actually shows that he wasnt working or driving , yes he should have written an explanation on the back but what was a pure and simple mistake shouldnt attract such a ridiculously large fine . He is a quiet lad who took it on the chin , ive told him to appeal but with VOSA being in it for the money i cant see him winning. At the end of the day it isnt an health and safety issue so how can they justify this . Isnt it another reason why theres a driver shortage
This doesn’t sound right. if was actually fined £200 there must be more to it. DVSA Policy tells us a fixed penalty will only be issued for an offence committed on the same day and fixed penalties are not issued for historical offences. HOWEVER - I believe they can ‘offer’ a fixed penalty instead of prosecution but a single offence such as this would not warrant prosecution anyway.
DVSA Enforcement Sanctions Policy says;
USE A TACHOGRAPH RECORD SHEET OR DRIVER CARD FOR LONGER THAN INTENDED
Unable to determine whether proper rest periods have been taken or driving does not exceed limits and offence is current - TE160DH & £50 GFP
Otherwise than above - Verbal Warning
It is the same for a DEFACED record sheet.
ramone:
He wouldnt have written on the back of the card an explanation , i keep telling them when using digital cards to do a print off if you make a mistake as we have an over zealous compliance manager who is employed by us who loves to pick up on anything he can . This time it was an anologue but in a way it actually shows that he wasnt working or driving , yes he should have written an explanation on the back but what was a pure and simple mistake shouldnt attract such a ridiculously large fine . He is a quiet lad who took it on the chin , ive told him to appeal but with VOSA being in it for the money i cant see him winning. At the end of the day it isnt an health and safety issue so how can they justify this . Isnt it another reason why theres a driver shortage
The DVSA can justify the fine simply because they have published a book called Enforcement Sanctions Policy (DVSA enforcement sanctions policy - GOV.UK) which tells us exactly what the sanction will be for any offence we can commit. They have given us fair warning.
The penalty will not have been issued incorrectly but … all he needs do is complete section 2 on the reverse of the penalty notice, send it to Bristol and he will get a date in court when he can explain and either be found guilty (more than £200 fine) or not guilty. I would hope DVSA wouldn’t want to go to court over it and will drop it … But be aware - if they choose to take it to court they will gather all the evidence they can (previous offences) by carrying out a check at the operator premises who must have at least 12 months of records for each driver and add them to the list to show it wasn’t just a simple mistake and he’s a persistent offender. Whilst doing this they may as well go through the records for all other drivers at the company as well 
He’s better off paying the fine and learning from it.
Sounds iffy something else going on such as failed to complete center field
nick2008:
Sounds iffy something else going on such as failed to complete center field
I don’t think he appealed it was the police not Vosa who pulled him my mistake he was pulled for excessive smoke from the exhaust , but it goes through the m.o.t every year without a problem